Review: Coyote vs. Acme is an unabashed love letter to Looney Tunes

The long-delayed hybrid live-action and animated feature film focusing on a legal battle between a classic cartoon predator and a major manufacturing giant has finally debuted in theaters, delivering a mixture of physical comedy and corporate satire.

The narrative follows the iconic coyote as he retains a struggling personal injury attorney to file a lawsuit against the corporate entity responsible for his defective pursuit gear. When a clerical mistake expands the litigation into a massive class-action style challenge, the small-time legal team is forced to go to trial against high-powered corporate defenders. Along the way, the storyline incorporates numerous character cameos, references to classical animation history, and a mysterious corporate cover-up, while paying tribute to legendary creators through the names of its human characters.\n\nTo achieve its distinct visual style, the director utilized a combination of physical puppetry on set and a blend of hand-drawn two-dimensional and computer-generated three-dimensional animation. This meticulous approach allowed the filmmakers to replicate the irreverent, slightly dark, and chaotic energy of the original animated shorts. Despite initially being shelved by its original studio for corporate tax write-off purposes—a decision that sparked significant industry and public backlash—the movie was eventually rescued and released by an independent distributor. The film has demonstrated strong initial box office performance during its opening weekend, signaling positive theatrical longevity and validating the decision to salvage the project from studio obscurity.